Only in exceptional circumstances does this blog become even remotely personal in its content - and this will be one of few occasions.
It is very rare that the civil society activities of this blog are ever mentioned within it - and never in detail if they are. There are reasons for that, which are mostly due to your author’s desire to avoid smudging the lines between a hobby, as is this blog - and things that actually matter, both personally and to wider society in Odessa and Ukraine.
If this blog stopped tomorrow, the author would have an extra free 15 minutes each day, and you, dear readers, would have an additional 2 minutes each day to read something more erudite.
However, some months ago, the blog was approached by some members of the Ukrainian academia, with specific aims, looking to reach out to the wider western academic world. There are, of course, several existing programmes to achieve such ends. However, in this instance it was not a matter of joining a programme, taking some grant money, and then enjoying - or not - a forced marriage with other programme participants. It was a request to find a receptive partner(s) and only then seek out the financing/grants programme. The aims, as stated as specific. Did this blog know of any suitable and approachable academic partners of repute?
The simple answer was “Yes - several in fact”. Having lots of enlightened friends and acquaintances has its advantages, even if it means your author is frequently the dumbest person in the room.
Thus an official (embossed letterhead paper exchanges and all that) fledgling courtship began between a highly respected UK University and a well known university in Kyiv. For now, these universities will remain anonymous, but almost daily emails are exchanged (in which this blog is included as a matter of courtesy presumably) relating to forthcoming workshops in the Autumn and Winter 2015, and Spring summer 2016. One aim is to glue together a close academic relationship, open to other western and Ukrainian universities to join should they wish (and some are already expressing interest) at the post-grad, Doctorate, Professor level.
Something right up - or at least partly up - the British Council grant alley - except the British Council grant budget for 2015 has only just received its annual refill, and thus no applications for funding under the new budget have hit the British Council website yet.
The blog has now 25 Ukrainian professors from Kyiv and Odessa confirmed as wanting to attend the first London workshops in the autumn, and thus is not about to wait the British Council getting its act together on-line, without looking for appropriate funding elsewhere too.
This blog is fortunate to have some very enlightened and influential readers - some of whom have spent time with your author on more than one occasion, exchanging thoughts on Ukrainian politics, policy, society and all such high brow issues. It is sometime worrisome to contemplate possibly numerous official notes containing the dull, but usually accurate, comments made in various files in Kyiv and beyond.
To those political, diplomatic and international NGO leaders acquainted with the author, or such readers with whom a meeting is yet to occur, should they have a few moments to rummage around their national grants/endowments/philanthropists looking to support the projection and cross-fertilisation of Ukrainian higher education at a post-Grad and above level - particularly by way of active workshops within the realms politics, policy, economics, history and law - and feel they could support, and indeed encourage participation therein, do drop the blog an email.
By way of disclosure, aside from the initial match-making, and continued inclusion in email correspondence, this blog has no connection with any university involved. It’s next task will be to persuade some diplomats and practitioners to attend the London workshops too.
However, in a sea of grant money flowing toward Ukraine, much of which will be spend heaven only knows how, on programmes imported, rather than created by Ukrainian practitioners, this blog is seeking access to as many sources of funding as possible, to finance albeit, a very small sum. To be abundantly clear - no funds are for the blog itself. Therefore DO NOT click on the “Donate” button on the home page of Odessatalk to sponsor the aforementioned university project - as stated at the very start of this entry, not smudging the lines between a hobby and what really matters, is your author’s generally enforced rule.
Naturally any donor/sponsor of this university project, should they desire it, will get there necessary public gratitude here (and in London as protocol dictates). If they would prefer to hide their light behind a bushel - then discretion is assured.
Before anybody asks, your author doesn’t know George Soros, so it is very unlikely the “inbox” is going to see an email from him asking for details of the nitty-gritty that requires funding - unfortunately.